Comments about ‘'Stay with us,' new LDS website urges gay Mormons’

"What you don't have the right to do is to push those beliefs into law
to the detriment of your fellow human beings."

Define law and
define detriment. First of all, I can't change natural laws. I suppose I
could change man-made laws to a degree, but why would I want to do that? I am
vehemently opposed to our corrupt, man-made government. I wish I could abolish
it, not expand its existing, overreaching powers. Some might consider that
detrimental, as in those who would like to see gay marriage endorsed by the
government. It isn't the government's place to endorse or oppose
marriage. In fact, I will oppose any effort of the government to do so, either
way. I don't think they should exist in the first place, so I will never
endorse any of their 'laws' that to me have no moral authority. So
don't worry, I won't push my beliefs into 'law,' as in
corrupt, man-made statutes. God's laws are what I answer to. They already
exist, so I won't do any pushing to have them changed either.

This is fantastic? Truly this is a move in the right direction, yet I find it
odd that God and his church are always trailing the society that they live in.
Doesn't God give his leaders on earth any forsight? This should have
happened years ago.

The title of this article should say "Stay with us, we won't hit you
again *wink*."

The truth is that the Mormon church has been
abusing gay people for a very long time. You can pretty it up all your want,
but it is still abuse (as an example look up electro shock therapy and BYU).
This website changes absolutely nothing, so I wish people would stop gushing
over it. Nothing has changed.

Gay people are still being forced to
choose between love and religion. Love always wins in the end and the church
will continue to lose amazing, remarkable people because of it. Your loss, not
ours.

To any gay people reading this, run as fast and as far away
from the church as you can. The grass is truly greener on the other side. There
are many people, groups, religions that will love and accept you for who you
are. Don't confuse Mormonism with God. They are not the same.

The same old rhetoric that says nothing substantial in hundreds of words. It
sounds like a desperate plea to keep gay members on their rolls. The traditional
family is the only avenue for ultimate exaltation in the church and it has
virtually nothing to offer to single heterosexuals like me or to homosexuals.
Real compassion and acceptance is not expecting someone to remain celebate all
of their life or opposing a legal committment by a loving same-sex couple.

@banderson"Gays can not procreate with each other. It requires a
female."

First off, lesbians exist. Secondly, adoption and
in-vitro fertilization, and surrogate parenting exist (we even had a state rep
who was a surrogate mother for a same-sex couple). Thirdly, gay people are gay,
they aren't going to have opposite gender sex (unless they're bisexual
rather than gay) so stopping gay marriage isn't going to get you more kids
out of it.

@One Human Family"This website changes
absolutely nothing"

It seems more willing to acknowledge sexual
orientation as a trait one is born with and is a bit more assertive about trying
to not shun the individual, but it changes nothing with regards to what they
expect from members who are attracted to people of the same-sex.

I have a question, that I would like respectful answers to: if a gay couple is
legally married (for instance, in Washington this past weekend, many couples
were married), can they enjoy full membership in the Church? Heterosexual
couples that are civilly married, but not in the temple, can be full members
right?

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints DOES NOT recognize any of the
same-sex marriages performed across the world or the United States. The
marriages do not meet the definition of marriage as defined by the laws of our
Heavenly Father. This means that you can come to our meetings and all else.
You would be welcomed but in the end the result is that you would need to meet
the law of chasity that all members meet. Which is that unless you are lawfully
wedded, as man and woman, you must obey the the law. If you doubt that then
further research on the new website would explain that.

As someone
has already stated, 'nothing has really changed." As in another thread
it isn't for those who are already living the gay lifestyle and want to
live the gay lifestyle. It is for those who want to live something else other
than this lifestyle. Who understand there is more to life than accepting what
the world has stated, "you have no choice, just be who you are and be
happy." This site gives hope where the world says there is no hope.

This is from The Family: A Proclamation to the
World, which is considered an official statement of the LDS Church: "We
further declare that God has commanded that the sacred powers of procreation are
to be employed only between man and woman, lawfully wedded as husband and
wife." I'm pretty sure that anyone known to be in violation of this
statement has put his or her membership in jeopardy, regardless of what a
man-made judicial body somewhere has determined to be legal. In response to your
second question regarding heterosexual couples not married in the temple but
civilly married, I would say this. They are NOT enjoying what LDS Church
membership has to offer. IMO, the whole point of LDS membership is to marry in
the temple. I'm not married, but if I didn't plan to someday marry in
the temple, I would remain single. Getting baptized, going to church every
Sunday, paying tithing, staying out of bars, etc., etc., just to be a good LDS
isn't very appealing to me, let alone civil marriage with children. To me,
the LDS Church is little else without temple marriage, relatively speaking.

What about the non-LDS couple who legally marries in their
state and then adopts a couple kids. After 10 years of building a relationship
and raising their children, they are met by Mormon Missionaries. They read the
BOM and come to believe it is true. They want to be baptized into the church.
How do you advise they proceed? Divorce? Split up the family? What?

@Bill,

I am troubled that you seem to think living a lie isn't
a problem, but living honestly in a committed relationship is. How can a
closeted homosexual be honest in all their dealings when they aren't even
being honest with themselves?

It is true that some with SSA cannot resist acting on that attraction--on their
own. The same is true for those who fall prey to other forms of destructive
behavior. Many cannot, on their own power, overcome their attraction to
pornography, their hot tempers, or their practice of mentally abusing their
family

But I also know that through the atonement of Jesus Christ, we
who have such behavioral problems can be blessed by a power greater than our
own. It is happening in my life and I know it can happen for anyone else who
wants it. For details, look up the Addiction Recovery Program of the Church of
Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It has been adapted from Alcoholics
Anonymous.

Ether 12:27 27 And if men come unto me I will show unto
them their weakness. I give unto men weakness that they may be humble; and my
grace is sufficient for all men that humble themselves before me; for if they
humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make weak things
become strong unto them.

To Mint Julip: That is what this site is all about to allow the closet
individual that has same-sex attraction know that there is away that is better
than trying to be someone he/she is not. It gives them hope to understand that
what the world says is not always the way it is. This site will help those that
have this attraction understand that even being honest with themselves and
seeing those who have the attraction and how they have dealt with it. The Lord
is not going to change his laws to accomodate man. Most religions try to bring
the Lord to the people where The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints
tries to bring individuals to the Lord. What you are suggesting is the
world's way not the Lord's way.

As to your comments to
Killpack. If this was to happen and they wanted baptism, they would be required
to give up the lifestyle otherwise no baptism. If you look at the world's
perspective then it is breaking up a family now. If you look at the eternal
perspective, the family is already destroyed.

Instead of the "love the sinner--hate the sin" mentality of many Mormon
Church members (which is certainly the tone of this website, which I have
researched btw) I prefer to adopt the "love the sinner and hate the sin
inside of "myself." With that much to concentrate on, I'm sure I
could learn to keep my nose out of other peoples lives and bedrooms.

"The truth is that the Mormon church has been
abusing gay people for a very long time. You can pretty it up all your want, but
it is still abuse (as an example look up electro shock therapy and BYU)."----------

BYU was not the inventor of shock therapy as a treatment
for homosexuality, and there were many institutions that used it. BYU ceased use
of shock therapy well before the American Psychological Association stopped
recommending the practice.

@One Human Family"Gay people are
still being forced to choose between love and religion.

To any gay
people reading this, run as fast and as far away from the church as you can. The
grass is truly greener on the other side. ... Don't confuse Mormonism with
God. They are not the same."-----------

I know several gay
people - some married, some not, that are active, happy members of the LDS
Church. I fully trust they know what they are doing and are happy in their
choice to live their lives as Latter-Day Saints. Maybe not all will choose this.
But these people I know are the first to defend the church and their choice to
remain in it.

Counter Intelligence says:"... a much bigger problem are those who
simply cannot tolerate non-compliance to gay dogma (Ranchhand)..."

You clearly don't understand what I've been saying all this time.
It doesn't matter to me at all whether or not someone is gay and chooses to
live a celibate life. What matters is that you've made that choice and it
applies TO YOU. You seem to think it is okay for you, since you made that
choice, to deny other gays the choice to marry because, well, celibacy is
working for you - why not every gay, and well, "god says so".

Be celibate and alone, that's okay with me. Just stop trying to force
other gays to live the life you've chosen for yourself. I'm not
fighting to make you live "the gay lifestyle". I'm fighting to
prevent you from making other gays live the life you've chosen for yourself
and to make sure that gays know they're perfect just the way they are.

Not angry, all I see though is more self-serving
hoopla from "the church".

@Ophelia;

Peace.

@wrz;

All we're asking is to be able to "pick
one".

@OnlyhtheCross;

Now there's a real
"loving" response to Ophelia. Wow.

@Flashback;

Certain genes express at different times during development. Not all
identical twins will both be gay, but they will both be gay more frequently than
fraternal twins, an indicator that there is a genetic component.

@JonathanPDX;

If the church is true, why would God make some people
gay and then ask them to deny themselves for their ENTIRE lives? An explanation
would certainly be welcome.

Being a person who has dealt with sexual sin myself, I can say that this is much
needed. More for members of the church than anything. I let a sexual addiction
get completely out of hand largely due to a fear of what people would think of
me if I came out. When I finally did, I realized that there are A LOT of people
who just do not understand what it is like to have everything inside you telling
you one thing and then to be expected to do another.

I'm not gay
but I have tendencies to act out in other sexual activities outside the
boundaries of the commandments of God. I have had these tendencies ever since I
can remember encountering sexual feelings and the tendencies are not wrong.
Acting on them is.

I know that I cannot fully understand what same
sex attraction would be like but I feel that my situation is about as close as
one can get. The experiences I have encountered with this have only strengthened
my conviction that we are here to bear one another's burdens. I sincerely
hope this website will help move church members in this direction.

Not sure why someone would want to stay in a religion that will not allow them
to marry the person they love or grant them access to the highest levels of
their heaven? Seems like the church will always consider gays and lesbians as
sub-par and not equal to other members.